If you got an iPad, Kindle, or Android tablet for Christmas or even a new smartphone, you might occasionally run into a situation where you find it more comfortable to have something hold the gadget for you while you surf or watch a movie. We’ve featured some funky retail tablet stands which are clever and comical ways to hold your tablet. But DIY tablet stand ideas float in thousands on YouTube and the web alike. Thus, there’s definitely potential for making your own tablet stand with materials you might have at home.

Among the myriad of DIY tablet stand suggestions on YouTube, here are three that caught my eye because they were extremely simple, with minimal need for complicated setups or modifications.

CD Spindle

If you have CDs lying around, you probably had to buy it in packs of 50 or even 100. If you do, there’s a genius little stand hiding underneath and between those CDs. Your blank CDs will have to go elsewhere, but your tablet will stand nice and tall, just like you see here.

This is a screenshot of the 50-CD spindle case, which will work for either portrait or landscape modes. The grooves in the case that are meant to secure the case cover make great slots to put your tablet on so make sure your CD case has those since certain spindle cases might not have them at all.

The 100-CD spindle case will also work pretty well, but as the demonstrator in the following video says, it’s a bit wobbly since the spindle is higher.

This isn’t the only person who figured out the CD spindle stand. There are many more demos on YouTube showcasing this trick. If you can’t view the video for some reason, just do a search on the giant video portal for ‘DIY CD spindle’ or something similar.

DVD Case

You probably own a library with DVDs of all types of movies, concerts and maybe even documentaries. Then all you need to get a tablet stand is to remove the DVD, take out the movie information slip and cut out the plastic around the case with a  knife. After that, you’ll need some ribbon or some kind of string and tie it around the grooves in the center DVD holder, which will hold the case and prevent it from going down flat when it has the weight of the tablet added.

For full instructions, see this video.

The coolest part of this, even though it’s not demonstrated in the video, might be that you can collapse the case shut, making it quite portable and slim. Since the stand doesn’t take much space, it could certainly make a good travel companion.

Card Holder

A mesh business card holder from Staples is a great investment (around $2) if you’re looking for a tablet stand. It can hold your iPad or other tablet on landscape mode without any problems. However, because of the way it’s constructed, it cannot hold the tablet in portrait mode. It will lose its balance and tip over.

A remedy is presented here by andytraub, who recommends either clamping out or bending towards the middle part, and extending the back side of the card holder. See the video for full instructions.

The result will look something like this.

We’ve also published an article on making your stands for your iPhone/iPod Touch or other smartphone here. Have you seen some other ingenious DIY tablet stand ideas elsewhere? Let us know in the comments section below!

Image credit: someToast